DNA encoding a fusion protein comprising a viral antigen and lymphokine

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are (1) a fused protein obtained by combining an antigen used for vaccine and a lymphokine by the application of gene engineering, (2) a recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for the above fused protein, (3) a transformant bearing the above recombinant DNA, (4) a method for producing the fused protein which comprises cultivating the above transformant, producing and accumulating the above fused protein in a culture, and collecting the fused protein, and (5) a hybrid protein obtained by chemically combining an antigen used for vaccine with a lymphokine. The resulting fused and hybrid proteins have strong immunogenicity.

This is a divisional of application(s) Ser. No. 08/386,354 filed on Feb. 8, 1995 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,946), a continuation of Ser. No. 08/086,429, filed Jun. 30, 1993 (now abandoned), a continuation of Ser. No. 07/548,509, filed Jul. 2, 1990, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to techniques for producing fused proteins useful as immunogens of therapeutic and preventive vaccines by expressing genes for fused proteins of antigens used for vaccines with lymphokines in eucaryotes or procaryotes, using recombinant DNA techniques. Further, the present invention relates to techniques for producing hybrid proteins useful as immunogens of therapeutic and preventive vaccines by chemically combining antigens used for vaccines with lymphokines.

A substance for stimulating immune responses to an antigen is called an adjuvant, which is often added to vaccines as an auxiliary substance. As the adjuvants most generally used, there are known aluminium hydroxide, aluminium phosphate and Freund's adjuvants. At present, aluminium hydroxide and aluminium phosphate are used for human, and Freund's adjuvants can not be used for human because of their strong side effects. As alternative substances to aluminium hydroxide and aluminium phosphate, there have been studied muramyldipeptide (MDP) derivatives, various lymphokines, lipid A derivatives, cholera toxins and the like.

Most of antigens produced by gene engineering technique generally have weak immunogenicity. It has therefore been desired to develop a strong adjuvant having reduced side effects in lieu of aluminium hydroxide and aluminium phosphate, or to prepare an antigen having improved immunogenicity, for the purpose of enhancing the immunogenicity of these antigens.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the object of preparing an antigen having stronger immunogenicity, the present inventors have conducted investigations. As a result, the present inventors have discovered that fused proteins obtained by combining antigen proteins with lymphokines by genetic engineering techniques and hybrid proteins obtained by chemically combining them can attain this object.

In accordance with the present invention, there are provided (1) a fused protein obtained by combining an antigen used for a vaccine with a lymphokine by genetic engineering techniques, (2) a recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for the fused protein described in (1), (3) a transformant bearing the recombinant DNA described in (2), (4) a method for producing the fused protein which comprises cultivating the transformant described in (3), producing and accumulating the fused protein described in (1) in a culture, and collecting the fused protein, and (5) a hybrid protein obtained by chemically combining an antigen used for a vaccine with a lymphokine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representation showing an example of an amino acid sequence of a surface protein gD gene of HSV-1 strain Miyama;

FIG. 2 is a representation showing an example of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A and 3B are a representation showing an example of an amino acid sequence of a surface protein gB gene of the HSV-1 strain Miyama;

FIG. 4A to 4C are a representation showing an example of a nucleotide sequence corresponding to the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 3A and 3B;

FIG. 5A to 5D show an example of a nucleotide sequence of a surface protein gB of HSV-1 strain KOS, and an amino acid sequence deduced therefrom;

FIG. 6A to 6C show an example of a nucleotide sequence of a surface protein of HSV-1 strain F, and an amino acid sequence deduced therefrom;

FIG. 7 is a representation showing an amino acid sequence of an interleukin 2 active substance;

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation showing the construction of plasmid pHSG396SgD;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation showing the construction of a truncated gD gene of HSV-1;

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid of a fused protein gene according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a representation showing a nucleotide sequence of the fused protein gene obtained in the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a representation showing an amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid for animal cells of the truncated gD gene of HSV-1;

FIG. 14 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid for animal cells of the fused protein gene according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a graph showing survival rates of mice to time after inoculation of HSV.

FIGS. 16A to 16G, are schematic representations showing the construction of plasmids used in Reference Example 2;

FIGS. 17A to 17C are a representation showing a nucleotide sequence and an amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of gpI gene inserted into the plasmid pUC18 in Reference Example 2;

FIG. 18 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid for animal cells of the fused protein gene according to the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid for animal cells of the fused protein gene according to the present invention;

FIG. 20A and 20B show Western blotting analysis of the fused protein of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid for animal cells of the fused protein gene according to the present invention; and

FIG. 22 is a schematic representation showing the construction of an expression plasmid for animal cells of the fused protein gene according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred lymphokines for use in the present invention include interleukin (hereinafter referred to as IL)-1, IL-2, IL-3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, granular colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), granular macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and interferon-γ.

The antigens (proteins or polypeptides) used for vaccines in accordance with the present invention include antigens of viruses whose hosts are animals, such as antigens of herpesviruses including herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV); antigens of retroviruses including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and adult human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I); antigens of hepadonaviruses including hepatitis B virus (HBV); antigens of togaviruses including non-A, non-B hepatitis viruses (HCV and HEV) and Japanese encephalitis virus; antigens of picornaviruses including hepatitis A virus (HAV); antigens of orthomyxoviruses including influenza virus; antigens of parvoviruses; antigens of papovaviruses; antigens of adennoviruses; antigens of poxviruses; antigens of reoviruses; antigens of paramyxoviruses; antigens of rhabdoviruses; antigens of arenaviruses; and antigens of coronaviruses; antigens of pathogenic protozoa such as a malarial antigen; and antigens of pathogenic bacteria such as a Bordetella pertussis antigen.

Examples of such antigens include surface antigen gD or gB of herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 or type 2, surface antigen gpI or gpIII of varicella-zoster virus (VZV), gag antigen or env antigen of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), gag antigen or env antigen of adult human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV-I), C antigen, M antigen or E antigen of hepatitis C virus (HCV), and core antigen, surface antigen L protein, surface antigen M protein or surface antigen S protein of hepatitis B virus (HBV).

In some embodiments of the present invention, the antigen used for vaccine may be fused with the lymphokine through a linker. In other embodiments, a hybrid protein comprising an antigen used as a vaccine and a lymphokine is formed by chemical methods.

Linkers for use in the present invention comprise one amino acid residue or a peptide residue comprising 2 to about 30 amino acid residues (preferably one amino acid residue or a peptide residue comprising 2 to about 10 amino acid residues) selected from G, A, V, L, I, S, T, C, M, E, D, K, R, H, F, Y, W, P, N and Q.

As an example, a fused protein of an HSV surface protein which is an HSV antigen with IL-2 will hereinafter be described.

As the HSV surface protein, glycoproteins gD and gB lacking transmembrance domains are advantageously used.

The present invention particularly provides (1) fused protein (I) of glycoprotein gD lacking the transmembrane domain with IL-2, or fused protein (II) of glycoprotein gB lacking transmembrane domain with IL-2; (2) recombinant DNAs (III) and (IV) containing nucleotide sequences coding for fused proteins (I) and (II), respectively; (3) transformants bearing recombinant DNAs (III) or (IV), respectively; and (4) a method for producing fused protein (I) or (II) which comprises cultivating the transformant bearing recombinant DNA (III) or (IV), producing and accumulating fused protein (I) or (II) in a culture, and collecting fused protein (I) or (II).

As surface protein genes of HSV, there can be used, for example, gD and gB genes of various HSV-1 strains such as HSV-1 strain Miyama. Examples of the gD genes include a gene having the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 1 (surface protein gD of HSV-1 strain Miyama, Japanese Patent Application No. 63-180114/1988). The essential portion of this amino acid sequence is from Lys of No. 26 to Ala of No. 302. Examples of the DNAs containing the nucleotide sequence coding for this gD gene include a DNA having the nucleotide sequence shown in FIG. 2. The portion from No. 186 to No. 1016 thereof corresponds to the essential portion. Examples of the gB include a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 3 (surface protein gB of HSV-1 strain Miyama, Japanese Patent Application No. 1-158238/1989 filed on Jun. 22, 1989 and Japanese Patent Application No. 1-308941/1989 filed on Nov. 30, 1989). The essential portion thereof is from Ala of No. 1 to Asp of No. 293. Examples of the DNAs containing the nucleotide sequence coding for this gB include a DNA having the nucleotide sequence shown in FIG. 4. The portion from No. 341 to No. 1219 thereof corresponds to the essential portion. The gB genes further include, for example, genes having the nucleotide sequences and the amino acid sequences deduced therefrom shown in FIG. 5 surface protein gB of HSV-1 strain KOS, D. J. Bzik et al., Virol. 133, 301 (1984)! and FIG. 6 surface protein gB of HSV-1 strain F, P. E. Pellet et al., J. Virol. 53, 243 (1985)!. The IL-2 genes are combined with these genes, preferably with the truncated gD or gB gene lacking the coding regions of the transmembrane domains, whereby the fused protein genes can be constructed.

Amino acids residues in a protein may be modified by oxidation, reduction, or other dervitization without loss of activity. Furthermore, modifications of the primary structure of the protein by deletion, addition or alteration of the amino acids can be made without destroying the activity of the protein. Such modifications are included in the definition of "essential portion" as used herein so long as the bioactivity of the protein is not destroyed. It is expected that such modifications may qualitatively or quantitively affect the bioactivity of the protein in the vaccines of the present invention.

IL-2 is one particularly preferred lymphokine for use in the vaccines of the present invention. Any IL-2 gene can be used as long as it codes for an IL-2 active substance. The IL-2 active substance may be any IL-2 as long as it has IL-2 activity, namely the activity of enabling the passage maintenance of T cells. Examples of such substances include natural IL-2 produced in animal bodies or animal cells, recombinant IL-2 produced by recombinant technology and their related substances. In particular, human IL-2 is preferable, and more particularly, recombinant human IL-2 is preferable. When the Il-2 described above and the related substances thereof are proteins, they may have sugar chains or not.

Specifically, there may be used, for example, polypeptide (A) produced by genetic engineering technique and having the amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 7 (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-78799/1986), and a fragment having a portion of the amino acid sequence necessary for its biological or immunological activity. Examples of the fragments include a fragment lacking one amino acid residue at the amino terminus (refer to European Patent Publication No. 91539), a fragment lacking 4 amino acid residues at the amino terminal portion (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-126088/1985) and a fragment lacking several amino acid residues at the carboxyl terminal portion. Further, a portion of the above polypeptide (A) may be deleted or substituted by a different amino acid(s). For example, the cystine residue at the 125-position may be replaced with a serine residue (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 59-93093/1984).

The above recombinant IL-2 produced by genetic engineering technique may be a polypeptide in which an Met residue is further added to the amino terminus of polypeptide (A) (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 6-1-78799/1986), or a mixture of polypeptide (A) and the polypeptide in which an Met residue is further added to the amino terminus of polypeptide (A) (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-115528/1985).

The recombinant DNA (expression plasmid) containing the nucleotide sequence coding for the fused protein (I) or (II) of the present invention can be prepared, for example, by the following processes.

(a) A desired truncated gene is cut out from a plasmid in which the gD or gB gene of HSV-1 strain Miyama has been cloned.

(b) A appropriate linker is added thereto as needed, followed by construction of a fused gene in which an IL-2 gene is linked to the 3'-terminal portion of the DNA.

(c) The resulting fused protein gene is ligated downstream from a promoter in an expression vector.

In the present invention, any vector (for example, plasmid) may be used as long as it can be replicated in an eucaryotic cell as a host. When the host is yeast, examples of such vectors include pSH19 S. Harashima et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 4, 771 (1984)! and pSH19-1 (European Patent Publication No. 0235430), and a vehicle for expression of foreign genes is obtained by inserting a promoter therein. When the host is an animal cell, the vehicle for expression of foreign genes is obtained, for example, by inserting an SV40-derived promoter, a retrovirus promoter or the like in pBR322.

As the promoter used in the present invention, any promoter is usable as long as the promoter is suitable for expression in the host used for the gene expression. When the host is yeast, it is preferred that a GLD (GAPDH) promoter, a PHO5 promoter, a PGK promoter, an ADH promoter, a PHO81 promoter and the like are used. When the host is an animal cell, an SV40-derived promoter, a retrovirus promoter and the like are preferably used.

The promoters can be prepared enzymatically from the corresponding genes. They can also be chemically synthesized.

By using the vector containing the recombinant DNA thus constructed, the eucaryotic cell is transformed.

The host includes, for example, yeast and animal cells.

Examples of the yeast include Saccharomyces cerevisiae AH22R⁻, NA87-11A and DKD-5D and Schizosaccharomyces pombe ATCC38399(h⁻ leul-32) and TH168 (h⁹⁰ ade6-M210 ural leul) M.Kishida et al., Current Genetics, 10, 443(1986)!.

Examples of the animal cells include adherent cells such as monkey COS-7 cell, monkey Vero cell, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell, mouse L cell and human FL cell, and non-adherent cells such as mouse myeloma cell (such as SP2/0), mouse YAC-1 cell, mouse MethA cell, mouse P388 cell and mouse EL-4 cell.

The transformation of the yeast is carried out according to, for example, the method described in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 75, 1929 (1978). The transformation of the animal cell is carried out according to, for example, the method described in Virology, 52, 456 (1973).

The transformants (recombinants) thus obtained are cultivated by per se known methods.

When the transformants in which the host is yeast are cultivated, there is used, for example, Burkholder minimum medium K. L. Bostian et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 77, 4505 (1980)! as a medium. The pH of the medium is preferably adjusted to about 5 to 8. The cultivation is usually carried out at about 20° to 35° C. for about 24 to 72 hours, with aeration or agitation if necessary.

When the transformants in which the host is an animal cell are cultivated, there can be used as the medium, for example, about 5 to 20% fetal calf serum-containing, MEM medium Science, 122,501 (1952)!, DMEM medium Virology, 8, 396 (1959)!, RPMI1640 medium Journal of the American Medical Association, 199, 519 (1967)! and 199 medium Proceeding of the Society for the Biological Medicine, 73, 1 (1950)!. The pH is preferably about 6 to 8. The cultivation is usually carried out at about 30° to 40° C. for about 15 to 60 hours, with aeration or agitation if necessary.

In the present invention, the fused proteins having both the HSV surface antigenicity and the IL-2 activity can be separated and purified by appropriate combinations of per se known separating and purifying methods. These known separating and purifying methods include methods utilizing a solubility such as salt precipitation and solvent precipitation, methods mainly utilizing a difference in molecular weight such as dialysis, ultrafitration, gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, methods utilizing a difference in electric charge such as ion-exchange column chromatography, methods utilizing specific affinity such as affinity chromatography, methods utilizing a difference in hydrophobicity such as reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and methods utilizing a difference in isoelectric point such as isoelectric point electrophoresis.

The fused protein of an antigen other than the HSV surface protein and IL-2 can be prepared using a gene (DNA) coding for that antigen in lieu of the HSV surface protein gene, according to the methods described above.

The fused protein of the antigen used for vaccine and a lymphokine other than IL-2 can be prepared using a gene coding for the antigen and a gene coding for the lymphokine, according to the methods described above.

When the virus is a partially or completely single-stranded virus, a double-stranded DNA which is obtained by conversion with DNA polymerase can be used. When the virus is an RNA virus, there can be used a double-stranded DNA which is obtained by synthesizing a single-stranded DNA by using a reverse transcriptase and then converting the single-stranded DNA with DNA polymerase.

The host used for expression of the recombinant DNA may be a procaryotic cell such as Escherichia coli or Bacillus. However, in order to improve the immunogenicity of the antigen-lymphokine fused proteins obtained, a eucaryotic cell is advantageously used as described above.

The protein simultaneously containing the antigen used for vaccine and the lymphokine can be obtained by combining 2 kinds of proteins by chemical methods as described below, in addition to the above genetic engineering technique. Namely, for the purpose of chemically combining the antigen used for vaccine with the lymphokine, there can be utilized substituent groups existing in these proteins, such as amino, carboxyl, hydroxyl and sulfhydryl groups. For example, the following methods are used.

(1) A reactive amino group of one protein is condensed with a reactive carboxyl group of the other protein by dehydration in a water-soluble solvent, using a water-soluble carbodiimide reagent such as 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylamino-propyl)-carbodiimide or 1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl)-carbodiimide-p-toluene sulfonate.

(2) A reactive amino group of one protein is reacted with a reactive ester of N-hydroxysuccimide such as p-maleimidomethylcyclohexane-1-carboxyl-N-hydroxysuccimide ester or N-(ε-maleimidocaproyloxy)succimide ester to maleimidate the protein, and then the resulting product is combined with a sulfhydryl group of (i) a protein obtained by reducing the other protein with dithiothreitol (DTT) or (ii) a protein obtained by introducing a sulfhydryl group in the other protein with N-succimidyl-3-(2-pyridylthio)-propionate (SPDP), to combine them through a thioether bond.

(3) Both reactive amino groups of two kinds of proteins are combined with each other by using a dialdehyde reagent such as succindialdehyde or glutaraldehyde.

(4) Sulfhydryl groups are introduced in two kinds of proteins by reduction with DTT or by SPDP, followed by reoxidation to produce a heterodimer.

Also, a desired heterodimeric protein can be efficiently produced by various combinations of these methods so that the activitoes of two kinds of proteins are not reduced.

After the completion of the combining reactions described above, the resulting hybrid proteins can be purified and separated by gel filtration chromatography using Sephadex G100 or G200, Sepharose 6B or 4B, Ultrogel AcA44 or 34, or Sephacryl S200. Further, the proteins can also be separated by a combination with affinity chromatography using an antibody column.

The antigen-lymphokine fused proteins or the antigen-lymphokine hybrid proteins obtained according to the present invention have stronger immunogenicity than the antigens not fused or combined with the lymphokines. This results from the fact that the antigen and the lymphokine simultaneously stimulate lymphocytes to promote efficiently the differentiation and proliferation of the lymphocytes, because of the presence of the antigen and the lymphokine in the same molecule. As a result, the production of antibodies to the antigens is significantly enhanced. In addition, the antigen-lymphokine proteins can also induce cell-mediated immunity. Accordingly, these proteins are particularly useful as therapeutic vaccines for virus infectious diseases observed in patients whose immunological function is lowered (for example, cancer patients and AIDS patients), and as therapeutic vaccines for prevention of recurrence diseases due to viruses inducing persistent infection (for example, herpesviruses, retroviruses and hepatitis viruses). Of course, the antigen-lymphokine proteins can also be advantageously used as preventive vaccines for prevention of infection with viruses, pathogenic protozoa and pathogenic bacteria.

The antigen-lymphokine proteins obtained according to the present invention can be (intramuscularly, subcutaneously or intracutaneously) administered in accordance with administration methods of various vaccines used for prevention of infection with viruses, pathogenic protozoa and pathogenic bacteria. In addition, these proteins can also be intravenously administered. Further, the antigen-lymphokine proteins can be used as themselves alone, as mixtures of them with conventional pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, and as liposomal preparations.

When bases, amino acids and so on are indicated by the abbreviations in this specification and the drawings, the abbreviations adopted by IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature or commonly used in the art are employed. For example, the following abbreviations are used. When the optical isomer is capable of existing with respect to the amino acids, the L-form is represented unless otherwise specified.

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid

cDNA: Complementary deoxyribonucleic acid

RNA: Ribonucleic acid

mRNA: Messenger RNA

A : Adenine

T : Thymine

G : Guanine

C : Cytosine

dATP : Deoxyadenosine triphosphate

dTTP : Deoxythymidine triphosphate

dGTP : Deoxyguanosine triphosphate

dCTP : Deoxycytidine triphosphate

ATP : Adenosine triphosphate

EDTA : Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

SDS : Sodium dodecyl sulfate

DTT : Dithiothreitol

Gly : Glycine (G)

Ala : Alanine (A)

Val : Valine (V)

Leu : Leucine (L)

Ile : Isoleucine (I)

Ser : Serine (S)

Thr : Threonine (T)

Cys : Cysteine (C)

1/2 Cys: Half cysteine

Met : Methionine (M)

Glu : Glutamic acid (E)

Asp : Aspartic acid (D)

Lys : Lysine (K)

Arg : Arginine (R)

His : Histidine (H)

Phe : Phenylalanine (F)

Tyr : Tyrosine (Y)

Trp : Tryptophan (W)

Pro : Proline (P)

Asn : Asparagine (N)

Gln : Glutamine (Q)

Ap^(r) : Ampicillin-resistant gene

Tc^(r) : Tetracycline-resistant gene

ARS 1: Autonomous replication sequence 1

With respect to the proteins of the present invention, a portion of the amino acid sequence may be modified, namely there may be addition, elimination or substitution by a different amino acid(s) as long as the immunogenicity is not lost.

The present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with the following Reference Examples and Examples. It is understood of course that these Reference Examples and Examples are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Transformant CHO-HDL-1-5 obtained in Example 3 described below and bearing plasmid pHDLdhfrl was deposited with the Fermentation Research Institute, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Japan (FRI) under the accession number FERM BP-2506 on Jul. 7, 1989. This microorganism was also deposited with the Institute for Fermentation, Osaka, Japan (IFO) under the accession number IFO 50192 on Jun. 26, 1989.

Transformant Escherichia coli DH1/pHSD BJ-1 bearing plasmid pHSD BJ-1 described in Reference Example mentioned below was deposited with the FRI under the accession number FERM BP-1784 on Mar. 9, 1988. This microorganism was also deposited with the IFO under the accession number IFO 14730 on Feb. 23, 1988.

Transformant Saccharomyces cerevisiae NA74-3A(ρ⁻)/pGFE213 bearing plasmid pGFE213 described in Example 1 mentioned below was deposited with the FRI under the accession number FERM BP-2095 on Oct. 11, 1988. This microorganism was also deposited with the IFO under the accession number IFO 10460 on Sep. 19, 1988.

Animal cell SP-neo-HSD-39 described in Example 6 mentioned below was deposited with the FRI under the accession number FERM BP-2809 on Mar. 16, 1990. This microorganism was also deposited with the IFO under the accession number IFO 50231 on Mar. 1, 1990.

Animal cell SP-neo-HDL-245 described in Example 8 mentioned below was deposited with the FRI under the accession number FERM BP-2810 on Mar. 16, 1990. This microorganism was also deposited with the IFO under the accession number IFO 50232 on Mar. 1, 1990.

Transformant Escherichia coli K12 DH1/pTB652 bearing plasmid pTB652 described in Example 5 mentioned below was deposited with the FRI under the accession number FERM BP-1373 on Sep. 5, 1986. This microorganism was also deposited with the IFO under the accession number IFO 14539 on Aug. 29, 1986.

Transformant Escherichia coli JM109/pVGL4 bearing plasmid pVGL4 described in Example 15 mentioned below was deposited with the FRI under the accession number FERM BP-2977 on Jun. 20, 1990. This microorganism was also deposited with the IFO under the accession number IFO 15049 on Jun. 13, 1990.

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of Plasmid pHSG396SgD

A DNA coding for the 20 amino acid residues from the N-terminus of gD, namely the 73-bp DNA fragment shown in FIG. 8 was chemically synthesized, and inserted into vector pUC8 digested with BamHI and HindIII.

The resulting pUC8 BamHI-HindIII73 was digested with BamHI and NcoI to obtain a 73-bp fragment. On the other hand, a NcoI-Saci DNA fragment of about 1.28 kb was obtained from cloning plasmid pUC18gD having an HindIII-NruI fragment plasmid pHSD BJ-1 (IFO 14730, FERM BP-1784 origin! of about 1.4 kb containing the gD-coding region of HSV. The above 73-bp fragment and the above NcoI-SacI DNA fragment were reacted with a BamHI-SacI digest of plasmid vector pHSG396 (Takara Shuzo) to prepare subcloning plasmid pHSG396SgD.

REFERENCE EXAMPLE 2 (1) Preparation of Virus DNA of Varicella-zoster Virus, Kuzuhara Strain

Flow 2000 cells (of human fetal lung origin) which were infected with varicella-zoster virus, Kuzuhara strain (VZV, KY strain) were inoculated at 10:1 to a monolayer (1575 cm²) of Flow 2000 cells, followed by incubation in GIT medium (Nihon Pharmaceutical) at 37° C. When at least 50% of the cells showed cytopathic effect, the cells were treated with trypsin-EDTA, and the infected cells were recovered, followed by centrifugation at low speed (1,500 rpm, 10 minutes) to remove a supernatant. To pellets of the resulting infected cells was added 0.3 ml of PBS (0.8% NaCl, 0.02% KCl, 0.115% Na₂ HPO₄, 0.02% KH₂ PO₄, pH 7.2) to obtain 0.66 ml of a suspension.

To the suspension was added 0.66 ml of low melting point agarose 1% low melting point agarose (FMC), 10 mM Tris HCl (pH 8.0), 1 mM EDTA), and the mixture was poured into a template (57 mm×2 mm×9 mm) to obtain an agarose block containing the infected cells. The agarose block was incubated in 15 ml of lysis buffer 1% SDS, 100 mM EDTA, 20 mM NaCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 1 mg/ml Proteinase K! at 37° C. overnight. The agarose block was transferred into a buffer which was prepared by removing SDS and Proteinase K from the above lysis buffer, and incubated overnight again. Then, the culture was allowed to stand in TE buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, 500 mM EDTA, pH 8.0) at 4° C. until it was subjected to electrophoresis.

The above agarose block containing virus DNA was embedded in a 1% agarose gel 1% GTG agarose (FMC), 89 mM Tris-borate, 89 mM boric acid, 2 mM EDTA (pH 8.0)!, and electrophoresis was carried out by using a pulsed field gel electgrophoresis apparatus (LKB) at 240 V at a pulse of 60 sec for 18 hours.

After electrophoresis, the gel was stained in 0.5 μg/ml ethidium bromide solution, and the virus DNA which appeared near 120 kb was cut out together with the agarose gel. The agarose gel was immersed in 30 ml of TE buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0), and allowed to stand at 4° C. for 2 hours. Then, the TE buffer was exchanged for a fresh one. After standing for 2 hours, the buffer was exchanged for a fresh one once more, followed by standing overnight. The agarose gel was washed with TE buffer once, and then immersed in 30 ml of a restriction enzyme reaction solution 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 7 mM MgCl₂, 100 mM NaC1, 7 mM 2-ME (mercaptoethanol), 0.01%BSA (bovine serum albumin)!, followed by standing at 4° C. for 2 hours. After this reaction solution was exchanged for a fresh one (10 ml), 1,200 units of restriction enzyme HindIII (Takara Shuzo) was added thereto, followed by standing at 37° C. for 5 hours.

After the reaction, the HindIII-digested virus DNA was electrically eluted from the agarose gel in a dialysis tube. About 2 ml of the resulting eluate was concentrated to 200 μl by a Centricon (Amicon), and ethanol was added thereto to precipitate the DNA. The precipitate was dissolved in 20 μl of restriction enzyme buffer (the same as described above in composition), and 10 units of XbaI and 10 units of HindIII (Takara Skhuzo) were added thereto, followed by reaction at 37° C. for 2 hours. The resulting reaction solution was subjected to electrophoresis in a 0.7% GTG agarose gel (FMC) as it is. As a result, there were detected fragments having a size similar to that reported by Davison et al. J. Gen. Virol. 67, 1759 (1986)!.

(2) Preparation of Plasmid Containing DNA Fragment of VZV, KY Strain

Of the XbaI-HindIII-digested fragments of the DNA of the VZV, KY strain, which were obtained in (1), fractions of about 8 to 10 kb were cut out of the agarose gel and electrically eluted, followed by phenol treatment and ethanol precipitation. About 50 ng of the DNA fragments were mixed with about 30 ng of pUC18 cleaved with XbaI and HindIII, and the mixture was incubated in 25 μl of a reaction solution 66 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.6, 6.6 mM MgCl₂, 10 mM dithiothreitol, 1 mM ATP, 20 units of T4 DNA ligase (Takara Shuzo)! at 16° C. overnight. Then, using the resulting solution, Escherichia coli JM109 was transformed. Plasmids contained in a white colony which appeared on an agar plate containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin, 0.2% X-gal and 10 mM IPTG were isolated by the alkali extraction method (T. Maniatis et al., Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, U.S.A., 1982), and the size of the XbaI-HindIII-digested fragments of cloned VZV DNA was examined by electrophoresis using a 0.7% agarose gel. A clone (pVHX7) into which a fragment of about 8.5 kb was inserted was selected, and the restriction map of the fragment was prepared. As a result, the map was similar to that reported by Davison et al., and it was anticipated that the fragment would contain a glycoprotein gpI gene (FIG. 16-1).

A 5.2 kb fragment obtained from the XbaI-SmaI digests of the above fragment was subcloned into the XbaI/SmaI site of pUC18 to prepare pCU18gpI (FIG. 16-1).

With respect to insert of pUC18gpI, the nucleotide sequence of the region of about 2.1 kb from the SmaI site was determined by the dideoxynucleotide synthetic chain termination method. The results showed that a VZVgpI protein was coded in the above region (FIG. 17).

An amino acid sequence deduced from the above nucleotide sequence is shown in FIG. 17. The nucleotide sequence of the above region was very similar to that reported by Davison et al. However, there were observed mutations in four bases T of No. 196 (this invention)→C (Davison); C. of No. 276→T; T of No. 1969→C; and T of No. 2040→lacking! (mutation in one amino acid: the 40-position is Thr in the report of Davison, but Ile in this invention).

(3) Construction (I) of Plasmid for Expression of VZVgpI Gene: Construction of Truncated gpI Transient Expression Plasmid

(i) pUC18gpI (FIG. 16-1) was digested with AvaI and NcoI to isolate a 0.35-kb fragment from -53 to +293 of a translation initiating codon of gpI. pUC19Nco which was obtained by inserting an NcoI linker (Pharmacia) into the SmaI site of vector pUC19 was cleaved with NcoI and BamHI. The resulting vector was ligated to the above 0.35-kb NcoI-AvaI fragment with T4 DNA ligase once, followed by reaction with BamHI, AvaI and T4 DNA ligase in order. Finally, ring closure was conducted with T4 DNA ligase to prepare pUC19gpINco (FIG. 16-2).

pUC19gpINco was reacted with XbaI, Klenow fragment E. coli DNA polymerase I (Klenow polymerase) and KpnI in order to open the ring. Thus, a 0.35-kb fragment was obtained. On the other hand, pUC18Nhe which was prepared by inserting an Nhe linker into pUC18 was reacted with EcoRI, Klenow DNA polymerase and KpnI in order to obtain a ring-opened vector. The resulting vector was ligated to the above 0.35-kb fragment with T4 DNA ligase to prepare pUC18NhegpINco (FIG. 16-2).

(ii) pUC18gpI was digested with SmaI and NcoI to obtain a 1.8-kb fragment, and pUC18NhegpINco was reacted with NheI, Klenow DNA polymerase and NcoI in order to obtain a 3.1-kb vector. The above 1.8-kb fragment was ligated to the above 3.1-kb vector with T4 DNA ligase to obtain plasmid pUC18gpiSma (FIG. 16-3).

The plasmid pUC18gpISma was cleaved with EcoT22I and the termini of the cleaved fragment were changed to flush ends, followed by insertion of an NheI linker to obtain plasmid pUC18NhegpIEcT (FIG. 16-3).

(iii) The plasmid pUC18NhegpIEcT was digested with XbaI to obtain a 2.1-kb fragment, and this fragment was treated with Klenow DNA polymerase. On the other hand, pTB701 a vector which was obtained by removing a c kinase gene from pTB652, Ono et al., Science 236, 1116-1120 (1987)! was cleaved with EcoRI, followed by treatment with Klenow DNA polymerase to obtain a vector. The above fragment treated with Klenow DNA polymerase was ligated to the resulting vector with T4 DNA ligase to prepare expression plasmid pTBgpIEcT (FIG. 16-4).

(iv) pUC18gpI was cleaved with SmaI and SacI, and the portion of about 0.45 kb on the 3'-terminal side of the gpI gene was digested with exonuclease III. Then, the resulting fragment was treated with mung bean nuclease and Klenow DNA polymerase to change the termini thereof to flush ends, followed by ring closure with T4 DNA ligase to prepare pUC18SS60 (FIG. 16-5).

pUC18SS60 was cleaved with KpnI and partially digested with EcoRI to obtain a 2.3-kb fragment. The termini of this fragment were changed to flush ends with T4 DNA polymerase, and an NheI linker (New England Biolabs) was ligated thereto, followed by trimming with NcoI and NheI to prepare a 1.3-kb fragment. The resulting fragment was ligated to a vector which was obtained by cleaving pUC18NhegpIEcT with NcoI and NheI to prepare pUC18gpISS60 (FIG. 16-5).

(v) pUC18gpISS60 was partially digested with EcoRI, and DNA fragments each of which was cleaved only at one portion were recovered. Then, the fragments were treated with Klenow DNA polymerase, followed by ring closure with T4 DNA ligase. From these was selected clone pUC18SS60-E7 in which the EcoRI site derived from pUC18 in pUC18SS60 disappeared (FIG. 16-6).

The termini of a 2.7-kb fragment obtained by treating pUC18SS60-E7 with XbaI were changed to flush ends with Klenow DNA polymerase. On the other hand, pTB701 was cleaved with EcoRI and then the termini of the fragment were changed to flush ends with Klenow DNA polymerase to obtain a vector. The above fragment was ligated to the resulting vector to prepare expression plasmid pTBgpIE7-17 (FIG. 16-6).

(4) Construction (II) of Plasmid for Expression of VZVgpI Gene: Construction of Truncated gpI Stable Expression Plasmid

Expression plasmid pTB564 of a hamster dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR) was digested with ClaI to obtain a 1.9-kb fragment. The termini of the resulting fragment were changed to flush ends with Klenow DNA ligase. The expression plasmid pTB564 was prepared by ligating a 0.9-kb fragment, a 2.4-kb fragment and a 0.8-kb fragment to one another with T4 DNA ligase, which were obtained by digesting pTB348, pTB399 and pTB401 R. Sasada et al., Cell Structure and Function 12, 205 (1987)! with PstI and BamHI, SalI and BamHI, and SalI and PstI, respectively. On the other hand, pTBgpIE7-17 was cleaved with SalI, and then the termini of the fragment were changed to flush ends with Klenow DNA polymerase to obtain a vector. The above fragment was ligated to the resulting vector to prepare expression plasmid pTBE7dhfr4 (FIG. 16-7).

EXAMPLE 1 Construction of HSV-1 Truncated gD Gene

The plasmid vector pHSG396SgD (Reference Example) having the HSV-1 strain Miyama gD gene was digested with restriction enzymes XhoI and XbaI to obtain a DNA fragment of about 1.35 kb, followed by further digestion with restriction enzyme HinfI to obtain an XhoI-HinfI fragment of about 0.91 kb. A 12-bp DNA fragment shown in FIG. 9 containing a stop codon was chemically synthesized, and reacted with the above XhoI-HinfI fragment and an XhoI-SacI digest of plasmid vector pHSG397 (Takara Shuzo) to prepare subcloning plasmid pHSG397SgDΔHinf. The resulting plasmid was digested with restriction enzymes XhoI and SacI to obtain an XhoI-SacI DNA fragment of about 0.92 kb. The fragment thus obtained was reacted with an XhoI-SacI digest of the plasmid pGFE213 (IFO 10460, FERM BP-2095 origin) described in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-180114/1988 and Reference Example 1 of Japanese Patent Application No. 63-317546/1988 to obtain expression plasmid pHSD104ΔHinf (refer to FIG. 9).

EXAMPLE 2 Construction of Gene Expression Plasmid for Fused Protein Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and Il-2

The subcloning plasmid pHSG397SgDΔHinf constructed in Example 1 was digested with XhoI, and a Klenow fragment was allowed to react on the digest, followed by insertion of an ECoRI linker (pGGAATTCC) (NEB) to obtain pHSG397SgDΔHinfE. The resulting plasmid was digested with HinfI to obtain a DNA fragment of about 0.95 kb, on which a Klenow fragment is allowed to react, followed by addition of an NheI linker (pCGCTAGCG) (Pharmacia) using T4 DNA ligase (Takara Shuzo). The resulting fragment was further digested with EcoRI and NheI to obtain an EcoRI-NheI fragment of about 0.9 kb coding for truncated gD lacking 94 amino acid residues from the C-terminus.

Then, animal cell expression plasmid pTB399 Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-63282/1986, R. Sasada et al., Cell Structure and Function 12, 205 (1987)! of human interleukin 2 awas digested with EcoRI and HindIII to obtain a fragment, which was further digested with HgiAI to obtain a fragment of about 0.45 kb. T4 DNA polymerase was allowed to react on the fragment thus obtained, followed by addition of the above NheI linker. The resulting fragment was further digested with BamHI and NheI to obtain an NheI-BamHI fragment of about 0.43 kb containing the coding region of mature human interleukin 2.

The two fragments described above were reacted with a fragment of about 3.9 kb obtained by EcoRI-BglII digestion of pTB399 to obtain an expression plasmid pHDL201.

Further, in order to express the above fused protein in CHO cells and to enable gene amplification, a DNA fragment containing a fused gene of IL-2 and truncated gD of about 2.9 kb which was obtained by digesting the plasmid pHDL201 with ClaI was inserted into the ClaI site of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene expression plasmid pTB348 (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-63282/1986) to obtain plasmid pHDLdhfrl (refer to FIG. 10).

The nucleotide sequence of the resulting fused gene is shown in FIG. 11, and the amino acid sequence deduced therefrom is shown in FIG. 12.

EXAMPLE 3 Gene Expression of Fused Protein Composed of HSV-1 Truncated qD and IL-2 in Animal Cell

Using the plasmid pHDLdhfrl constructed in Example 2, CHO cell DHFR⁻ strain G. Urlaub and L. A. Chasim, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 4216-4220 (1980)! was transformed by the calcium phosphate method C. M. Gorman et al, Science 221, 551-553 (1983)! to obtain a transformant which was converted to DHFR⁺.

The resulting transformant CHO-HDL-1-5 (IFO 50192, FERM BP-2506) was cultivated in Dulbecco MEM medium (Gibco) containing 10% fetal calf serum (Whittaker M. A. Bioproducts) so as to become confluent. Then, the medium was exchanged for a methionine-free medium, and 25 μCi/ml of ³⁵ S-methionine was added thereto, followed by cultivation overnight.

After a supernatant of the culture was recovered, 5 μl/ml of supernatant of rabbit anti-HSV-1 (Maclntyre) serum (Dakopatt) or 10 μl/ml of supernatant of rabbit anti-human IL-2 serum was added to the supernatant, followed by cultivation at 4° C. for 2 hours. Then, protein A-Sepharose (Pharmacia) was added thereto, and cultivation was further carried out at 4° C. for 2 hours, followed by centrifugation to recover a precipitate. The precipitate was washed with a buffer containing 0.05% NP-40, and Laemmli buffer was added thereto, followed by heating at 100° C. for 5 minutes. After cooling, a supernatant was recovered by centrifugation and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After electrophoresis, the gel was dried, and subjected to autoradiography. As a result, it was revealed that a products of about 45 to 60 k daltons which were reactive to both anti-HSV-1 and anti-IL-2 antibodies were produced.

EXAMPLE 4 Detection of IL-2 Activity in Expressed Product of Gene Coding for Fused Protein Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and IL-2

With respect to the culture of the transformant in which the expression of the fused protein composed of truncated gD and human IL-2 was observed in Example 3, the IL-2 activity was measured by the modified MTT method H. Tada et al., J. Immunol. Methods 93, 157 (1986)!, using IL-2-dependent cell strain NKC3.

As a result, the IL-2 activity was only detected in the culture supernatant of the cell in which the fused gene was introduced.

EXAMPLE 5 Construction of Plasmid for Expression of HSV-1 Truncated gD Gene in Myeloma Cell

The plasmid pHSG397SgDΔHinfE constructed in Example 2 was digested with restriction enzyme EcoRI to obtain a fragment of about 0.9 kb coding for truncated gD. The fragment thus obtained was inserted into the EcoRi site of pTB701 a vector obtained by removing a C-kinase gene from plasmid pTB652 described in Ono et al., Science 236, 1116-1120 (1987)!, thereby obtaining a truncated gD expression plasmid pHSD207 having a long terminal report and the early promoter of SV40.

Then, plasmid pMAMneo (Clontec) having a neomycin-resistant gene was digested with BamHI to obtain a fragment of about 2.8 kb containing the early promoter of SV40, the neomycin-resistant gene and a polyadenylation site. This fragment was subcloned to the BamHI site of pHSG396 (Takara Shuzo), followed by further digestion with restriction enzymes ClaI and SalI to obtain a ClaI-SalI fragment of about 2.8 kb containing the neomycin-resistant gene. The resulting fragment was reacted with a ClaI-SalI digest (about 5.1 kb) of the above plasmid pHSD207 to obtain an expression plasmid pHSDneol of about 7.9 kb (refer to FIG. 13).

EXAMPLE 6 Expression of HSV-1 Truncated gDGene in Myeloma Cell

Using the plasmid pHSDneol constructed in Example 5, mouse myeloma cell Sp2/0-Ag14 (Dainippon Pharmaceutical) was transformed by electroporation using a Gene Pulser (Bio-Rad), followed by cultivation in RPMI1640 medium (Gibco) containing 400 μg/ml of G418 (Gibco) and 10% fetal calf serum to obtain G418-resistant transformants. A culture supernatant of the transformants was screened according to an enzyme immunoassay by a sandwich method using a microplate (Nunc) coated with rabbit anti-HSV-1 serum (Dakopatt) and biotinyl anti-HSV-1 & -2 antibody (Chemicon) to obtain clones in which truncated gD was expressed.

The resulting high expression clone SP-neo-HSD-39 was cultivated in RPMI1640 medium (Gibco) containing 10% fetal calf serum (Whittaker M. A. Bioproducts), and then the medium was exchanged for a methionine-free medium, and 25 μCi/ml of ³⁵ S-methionine was added thereto, followed by cultivation overnight.

After a supernatant of the culture was recovered, 5 μl/ml of supernatant of rabbit anti-HSV-1 serum (Dakopatt) was added to the supernatant, and the mixture was incubatied at 4° C. for 2 hours, followed by centrifugation to recover a precipitate. The precipitate was washed with a buffer containing 0.05% NP-40, and Laemmli buffer was added thereto, followed by heating at 100° C. for 5 minutes. After cooling, a supernatant was recovered by centrifugation and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. After electrophoresis, the gel was dried, and subjected to autoradiography. As a result, it was revealed that a products of about 40 to 50 k daltons which were reactive to an anti-HSV-1 antibody were produced.

EXAMPLE 7 Construction of Gene Expression Plasmid Fused Protein Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and IL-2 in Myeloma Cell

The plasmid pHDL201 constructed in Example 2 was digested with restriction enzymes SalI and EcoRI to obtain a fragment of about 3.9 kb containing a fused gene composed of truncated gD and IL-2. On the other hand, the truncated gD expression plasmid pHSDneol having the neomycin-resistant gene in Example 5 was digested with SalI and EcoRI to obtain a fragment of about 4.4 kb containing the neomycin-resistant gene. These two fragments were reacted with each other to obtain expression plasmid pHDLneol of the truncated gD-IL-2 fused gene having the neomycin-resistant gene (refer to FIG. 14).

EXAMPLE 8 Gene Expression of Fused Protein Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and IL-2 in Myeloma Cell

Using the plasmid pHDLneol constructed in Example 7, mouse myeloma cell Sp2/0-Ag14 (Dainippon Pharmaceutical) was transformed by electroporation using a Gene Pulser (Bio-Rad), followed by cultivation in RPMI1640 medium (Gibco) containing 200 μg/ml of G418 (Gibco) and 10% fetal calf serum to obtain G418-resistant transformants. A culture supernatant of the transformants was screened according to an enzyme immunoassay by a sandwich method using a microplate (Nunc) coated with rabbit anti-HSV-1 serum (Dakopatt) and biotinyl anti-HSV-1 & -2 antibody (Chemicon) to obtain clones in which truncated gD was expressed.

Of the clones, Sp-neo-HDL-245 relatively high in expression amount was cultivated in serum-free medium ASF104 (Ajinomoto), and 1 ml of a supernatant thereof was concentrated by Ultrafree PF (Millipore). Then, Laemmli buffer was added thereto to 50 μl, followed by heating at 100° C. for 5 minutes. After cooling, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was conducted, and further the western blotting method was carried out using rabbit anti-HSV-1 serum (Dakopatt) and rabbit anti-human IL-2 serum (Genzyme). As a result, bands recognized by all antibodies were specifically detected.

EXAMPLE 9 Expression of HSV-1 Trucated gD Gene in Animal Cell

Expression plasmid pHSDdhfrl of HSV-1 truncated gD gene for animal cells was prepared as described in Reference Examples 1 and 2 and Example 1 of Japanese Patent Application No. 1-233728/1989, and transformant CHO-HSD-1-7 was obtained as described in Example 2 of the same application. The details thereof will hereinafter be described.

The plasmid pHSG397SgDΔHinf shown in Example 1 was digested with XhoI and SacI, and then T4 DNA polymerase was allowed to react on the digest to obtain a fragment of about 0.9 kb containing the truncated gD gene, both ends of the fragment being flush.

Then, plasmid pTB399 Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-63282/1986; R. Sasada et al., Cell Structure and Function 12, 205 (1987)! was digested with restriction enzymes EcoRI and BglII, and then T4 DNA polymerase was allowed to react on the digest to obtain a fragment of about 3.9 kb both ends of which are flush. The resulting fragment was reacted with the above fragment containing truncated gD in the presence of T4 DNA ligase to obtain expression plasmid pHSD209.

Then, in order to express the gene in CHO cells and to enable gene amplification, a fragment of about 2.4 kb which was obtained by digesting the plasmid pHSD209 with restriction enzyme ClaI was inserted into the ClaI site of plasmid pTB348 (refer to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-63282/1986) to obtain plasmids pHSDdhfrl and pHSDdhfr2.

Using the plasmid pHSDdhfrl, CHO cell DHFR⁻ strain G. Urlaub and L. A. Chasim, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 4216-4220 (1980)! was transformed by the calcium phosphate method C. M. Gorman et al, Science 221, 551-553 (1983)! to obtain a transformant which was converted to DHFR⁺.

EXAMPLE 10 Purification of HSV-1 Truncated gD (t-gD)

The transformant CHO-HSD-1-7 obtained in Example 9 was cultivated in serum-free medium ASF104 (Ajinomoto) so as to give a confluent state. Then, 5 1 of the culture supernatant was dialyzed against 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) buffer, followed by addition of ammonium sulfate to obtain a 20% saturated concentration. The resulting solution was subjected to a Butyl-Toyopearl column (100 ml in bed capacity, φ2.6×19 cm) equilibrated with 20% saturated ammonium sulfate/20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) buffer, and then the column was washed with the same buffer. Subsequently, t-gD was eluted by a concentration gradient (totaled 800 ml) from 20% to 0% ammonium sulfate. t-gD fractions (70 ml) eluted at saturated ammonium sulfate concentrations of about 3 to 5% were concentrated to 4 ml with an ultrafiltration membrane (DIAFLO; Amicon). The resulting solution was subjected to a Sephacryl S-300 column (198 ml in bed capacity, φ1.6×98.5 cm) equilibrated with PBS, and t-gD fractions were collected as a purified sample (3.5 mg/16 ml).

EXAMPLE 11 Purification of Fused Protein (t-qD-IL-2) Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and IL-2

The transformant CHO-HDL-1-5 obtained in Example 3 was cultivated in serum-free medium ASF104 (Ajinomoto) so as to give a confluent state. Then, 5 1 of the culture supernatant was dialyzed against 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) buffer, followed by addition of ammonium sulfate to obtain a 20% saturated concentration. The resulting solution was subjected to a Butyl-Toyopearl 650 column (100 ml in bed capacity, φ2.6×19 cm) equilibrated with 20% saturated ammonium sulfate/20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) buffer, and then the column was washed with the same buffer. Subsequently, t-gD-IL-2 was eluted by a concentration gradient (totaled 800 ml) from 20% to 0% ammonium sulfate. t-gD fractions (70 ml) eluted at saturated ammonium sulfate concentrations of about 0% were concentrated to 4 ml with an ultrafiltration membrane (Amicon). The resulting solution was subjected to a Sephacryl S-300 column (198 ml in bed capacity, φ1.6×98.5 cm) equilibrated with PBS, and t-gD-IL-2 fractions were collected as a purified sample (2.8 mg/14 ml).

EXAMPLE 12 Immunogenicity of Fused Protein (t-qD-IL-2) Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and IL-2

(1) Determination of Anti-HSV Antibodies

Each of truncated gD (t-gD) obtained in Example 10 and t-gD-IL-2 obtained in Example 11, alone or adsorbed on alum adjuvant (final concentration 0.5 mg/ml, pH 7.0), was abdominally subcutaneously administered in an amount of 0.2 ml/mouse to BALB/c mice (female, 6 weeks old, Charles River). After 5 weeks, blood was collected and serum samples were prepared. The anti-HSV antibodies were determined by the following method.

An inactivated HSV-coated microplate of a human anti-HSV antibody determination kit (Herpes Stat, Whittaker Bioproducts, Lot No. 002706) was blocked with PBS containing 20% FCS at room temperature for 2 hours, followed by washing 3 times with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20 (PBS-Tween). To this plate was added 100 μl/well of the serum sample diluted with 20% FCS/40 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5)/5% NACl/0.05% Tween 20, followed by incubation at room temperature for 1 hour. The plate was washed 6 times with PBS-Tween, and then 100 μl of a 1,000-fold dilution of a peroxidase-labeled anti-mouse IgG antibody (HPR-conjugated rabbit×mouseIgG H+L!, Zymed Laboratories, Lot No. 80801651) was added to each well, followed by incubation at room temperature for 30 minutes. The plate was washed 6 times with PBS-Tween, and then 100 μl of a substrate solution 2 mg/ml o-phenylenediamine/0.02% H₂ O₂ /0.1M citrate buffer (pH 4.5)! was added to each well, followed by reaction for 10 minutes. After 200 μl of 2N sulfuric acid was added to each well to terminate color development, the absorbance was measured at 492 nm. (2) Comparison of Antibody Productivity of t-gD with That of t-gD-IL-2.

The titer of the anti-HSV antibody in the serum sample was calculated using mouse anti-gD monoclonal antibody M42 Koji Inoue, Osaka University Medical Magazine 36 (No. 4), 69 (1987)! as a standard antibody in the following manner. The antibody titer of the M42 antibody (1.9 mg/ml) was arbitrarily defined as to 1900 mU/ml, and the titer of the anti-HSV antibody was determined from the ratio of the dilution of M42 giving the 50% value (about 1) of the maximum absorbance (≧2.0) given by the 4-fold dilution of M42 to that of the serum sample. Mean values for groups each consisting of 10 mice are shown in Table 1.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                                          Antibody titer (mU/ml)                                        Antigen   Dose (μg) Alum (-) Alum (+)                                       ______________________________________                                         t-gD      0.35         --       76                                                       1.7          <5       228                                            t-gD - IL-2                                                                              1.0          --       513                                                      5.0          285      1,653                                          Control   --           --       <5                                             ______________________________________                                    

As apparent from Table 1, when the antigen was administered alone Alum (-)!, t-gD could hardly induce the antibody. However, t-gD-iL-2 significantly exhibited the antibody productivity. These results revealed that IL-2 combined with t-gD achieved a strong adjuvant activity. When the Alum adjuvant was used Alum (+)!, it was observed that t-gD produced the antibody (228 mU/ml on administration of 1.7 μg). However, the high antibody titer was obtained by t-gD-IL-2 (513 mU/ml on administration of 1.0 μg), and the effect of IL-2 addition was observed.

EXAMPLE 13 Immunogenicity of Fused Protein (t-qD-IL-2) Composed of HSV-1 Truncated gD and IL-2

(1) Determination of Anti-HSV Antibodies

Each of truncated gD (t-gD) obtained in Example 10 and t-gD-IL-2 obtained in Example 11, alone, mixed with equimolar human recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2; 1.21 mg/ml, Takeda Chemical Industries, Lot No. H-609-035) or adsorbed on alum adjuvant (final concentration 0.5 mg/ml, pH 7.0), was abdominally subcutaneously administered in an amount of 0.2 ml/mouse to BALB/c mice (female, 8 weeks old, Charles River). After 5 weeks, blood was collected to prepare serum samples. When immunization was carried out twice, the antigen was administered again 4 weeks after the first administration, and blood was collected 2 weeks after the second administration. The anti-HSV antibodies were determined by the following method.

An inactivated HSV-coated microplate of a human anti-HSV antibody determination kit (Herpes State, Whittaker Bioproducts, Lot No. 002706) was blocked with PBS containing 20% FCS at room temperature for 2 hours, followed by washing 3 times with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20 (PBS-Tween). To this plate was added 100 μl/well of the serum sample diluted with 20% FCS/40 mM Tris-HCl(pH 7.5)/5% NACl/0.05% Tween 20, followed by incubation at room temperature for 1 hour. The plate was washed 6 times with PBS-Tween, and then 100 μl of a 1,000-fold dilution of a peroxidase-labeled anti-mouse IgG antibody (HPR-conjugated rabbit×mouse IgG H+L!, Zymed Laboratories, Lot No. 80801651) was added to each well, followed by incubation at room temperature for 30 minutes. The plate was washed 6 times with PBS-Tween, and then 100 μl of a substrate solution 2 mg/ml o-phenylenediamine/0.02% H₂ O₂ /0.1M citrate buffer (pH 4.5)! was added to each well, followed by reaction for 10 minutes. After 200 μl of 2N sulfuric acid was added to each well to terminate color development, the absorbance was measured at 492 nm.

(2) Comparison of Antibody Productivity of t-gD with That of t-gD-IL-2

The titer of the anti-HSV antibody in the serum sample was calculated using mouse anti-gD monoclonal antibody M42 Koji Inoue, Osaka University Medical Magazine 36 (No. 4), 69 (1987)! as a standard antibody in the following manner. The antibody titer of the M42 antibody (1.9 mg/ml) was arbitrarily defined as to 1900 mU/ml, and the titer of the anti-HSV antibody was determined from the ratio of the dilution of M42 giving the 50% value (about 1) of the maximum absorbance (≧2.0) given by the 8-fold dilution of M42 to that of the serum sample. Mean values for groups each consisting of 10 mice are shown in Table 2. The range represented by ± shows a standard deviation.

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Antigen (Dose)   Antibody titer (mU/ml)                                        ______________________________________                                         Control  PBS!       7                                                          t-gD (1 μg)   <15                                                           t-gD (5 μg)   9 ± 4                                                      t-gD (1 μg) × 2                                                                        1,018 ± 1,833                                              t-gD (1 μg) + IL-2 (0.25 μg)                                                              23 ± 29                                                    t-gD (5 μg) + IL-2 (1.25 μg)                                                              35 ± 38                                                    t-gD - IL-2 (1 μg)                                                                           400 ± 292                                                  t-gD - IL-2 (5 μg)                                                                           692 ± 442                                                  t-gD - IL-2 (1 μg) × 2                                                                 46,183 ± 38,443                                            t-gD (1 μg) - Alum (125 μg)                                                               341 ± 267                                                  t-gD (5 μg) - Alum (125 μg)                                                               481 ± 451                                                  ______________________________________                                    

As apparent from Table 2, when the antigen was once administered alone (Alum-) t-gD could hardly induce the antibody. However, t-gD-IL-2 significantly exhibited the antibody productivity, even when it was administered once. When the mixtures of t-gD and equimolar rIL-2 were administered once, the slight antibody production was only observed. These results revealed that IL-2 combined with t-gD achieved a strong adjuvant activity. When the Alum adjuvant was used (t-gD-Alum), it was observed that t-gD produced the antibody (341 mU/ml on administration of 1 μg and 481 mU/ml on administration of 5 μg). Compared to the antibody titers (400 mU/ml on administration of 1 μg and 692 mU/ml on administration of 5 μg) given by t-gD-IL-2, it was shown that the adjuvant effect due to IL-2 addition was not less than that of alum (125 μg/mouse).

(3) Determination of Killer Activity.

The killer activity was determined by the ⁵¹ Cr releasing method. The preparation of effector cells and the labeling of target cells with ⁵¹ Cr were performed according to the methods described in S. Hinuma et al., Immunology 159, 251 (1986). Each of t-gD (5 μg), the mixture of t-gD (5 μg) and recombinant human IL-2 (rIL-2) (1.25 μg), and t-gD-IL-2 (5 μg) was dissolved in 200 μl of PBS, and the resulting solutions were abdominally subcutaneously administered to BALB/c mice (4 mice per group). After 5 weeks, spleens were obtained from the mice. The spleens were collected for each group containing a control group to prepare single cell suspension. For stimulation in vitro with HSV-1, HSV-1 strain Miyama having a plaque forming unit (PFU) of about 1×10⁷ was added to 1.25×10⁸ spleen cells, followed by incubation at 37° C. for 1 hour. The stimulated cells were suspended in 50 ml of complete RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% FCS, and cultivated in a plastic flask (Nunc) in the presence of 5% CO² at 37° C. for 5 days. When the cells were not stimulated with HSV-1, the cultivation was similarly conducted without addition of HSV-1 strain Miyama. After the cultivation, the cells were washed by centrifugation. The number of the viable cells was counted, and then the cells were used as the effector cells.

As the target cells, P388, a macrophage cell line of the BALB/c mouse, was used. 3×10⁶ P388 cells were incubated with HSV-1 strain Miyama having a PFU of about 3×10⁶ at 37° C. for 1 hour to prepare HSV-1-infected P388 cells. Then, 0.1 mCi sodium chromate solution was added to the HSV-1-infected and non-infected cells to label the cells with ⁵¹ Cr.

The spleen cells were added to 1×10⁴ 51 Cr-labeled P388 cells so as to give an effector cells/target cells ratio (E/T ratio) of 25 to 100, followed by cultivation on a U-type 96-well microplate (Nunc) at 37° C. for 4 hours. The killer activity was calculated from the amount of ⁵¹ Cr liberated in the supernatant (200 μl ). The determination was carried out twice, and the result was indicated by the mean value of the two determinations. Further, the HSV-1 specific ⁵¹ Cr-release (%) was calculated from the following equation:

    HSV-1 Specific .sup.51 Cr-Release (%)= .sup.51 Cr Release from HSV-1-Infected P388 Cells (%)!- .sup.51 Cr-Release from HSV-1-Uninfected P388 Cells(%)!

The results are shown in Table 3. The HSV-1-specific and nonspecific killer activities were only observed when the spleen cells of mice to which t-gD-IL-2 was administered was stimulated in vitro with HSV-1. This shows that the cellular immunity to HSV-1 is induced by the administration of t-gD-IL-2.

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Induction of HSV-1 Specific and Non-specific Killer                            Activities by Administration of t-gD-IL-2                                                       HSV-1                                                         Adminis-                                                                               HSV-1    Infec-   % .sup.51 Cr Release                                 tration Stimu-   tion of  E/T Ratio                                            in Vivo lation   Target   25     50     100                                    ______________________________________                                         Control -        -        <1     <1     <1                                                      +        <1     <1     <1                                             +        -        <1     <1     <1                                                      +        <1     <1     <1                                     t-gD    -        -        <1     <1      ND.sup.a                                               +        <1     <1     <1                                             +        -        <1     <1     ND                                                      +        <1     <1     <1                                     t-gD + rIL-2                                                                           -        -        <1     <1     <1                                                      +        <1     <1     <1                                             +        -        ND     ND     ND                                                      +        <1     <1     ND                                     t-gD - IL-2                                                                            -        -        <1     <1     <1                                                      +        <1     <1     <1                                             +        -        14.7   19.7   24.8                                                    +        26.5   34.3   38.7                                                             (11.8).sup.b                                                                          (14.6) (13.9)                                 ______________________________________                                          .sup.a ND: Not done                                                            .sup.b HSV1 specific .sup.51 Cr releasing amount                         

(4) Protection against HSV-1 Challenge

Mice were immunized with each of 1 μg of t-gD, 1 μg of t-gD-IL-2 and a mixture of 1 μg of t-gD and 0.25 μg of rIL-2, and protection against HSV-1 challenge in those mice was examined. Namely, each of the above antigens was administered to 8-week-old female BALB/c mice (a group consisting of 6 to 7 mice) in the manner described in the above item (1). After 5 weeks, 0.1 ml/mouse of HSV-1 (Miyama+GC. strain) having a PFU of 2×10⁵ was intraperitoneally inoculated in the mice. After inoculation, observations were carried out for 17 days to determine the survival ratio of the mice. The results are shown in FIG. 15. The figures in parentheses indicate the number of the mice used and the number of mice in which the symptoms due to HSV-1 infection were observed (the symptoms appeared in the mice or the mice died).

In the control group (PBS) and the t-gD administration group, the symptoms due to HSV-1 infection were observed in all mice. Even in the group (mixed) to which the mixture of t-gD and rIL-2 was administered, about half of the mice died. In contrast, in the t-gD-IL-2 administration group (fused), only one mouse died 11 days after the HSV-1 inoculation.

These results show the effect of IL-2 addition to t-gD not only in antibody production, but also in protection against HSV-1 challenge.

EXAMPLE 14 Preparation of Hybrid Protein Composed of HSV-1 Type Truncated gD and riL-2

(1) Maleimidation of HSV-1 Truncated gD

1 mg of the HSV truncated gD obtained in Example 11 was dissolved in 2 ml of 5 mM acetate buffer (pH 5.0), and then 50 μl of a bimolar N-(ε-maleimidocaproyloxy) succinimide ester solution in dimetylformamide was added thereto, followed by reaction at 30° C. for 20 minutes. The reaction mixture was subjected to a Sephadex G-25 column equilibrated with 0.1M phosphate buffer (PB, pH 6.5) to remove the combined reagent.

(2) Sulfhydrylation of IL-2

1 mg of the rIL-2 prepared in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-63282/1986 was dissolved in 0.05M PBS (pH 7.3), and then 50 μl of a bimolar SPDf solution in methanol was added thereto, followed by reaction at 30° C. for 30 minutes. After reduction by addition of 50 μl of 0.1M aqueous solution of DTT, the resulting product was subjected to the Sephadex G-25 column described in the above item (1) to remove the excessive reagent.

(3) Preparation of Antigen-IL-2 Hybrid Protein

0.8 ml of the sulfhydrylated IL-2 prepared in the above item (2) was slowly added to 0.8 mg of the maleimidated truncated gD antigen obtained in the above item (1), with stirring under ice cooling, followed by reaction overnight. The reaction mixture was subjected to a Sephacryl S-200 column to separate and remove unreacted proteins from a chemically combined hybrid protein. As a result, about 1.2 mg of the hybrid protein composed of truncated gD and rIL-2 which were chemically combined with each other was obtained.

EXAMPLE 15 Construction of Gene Expression Plasmid for Fused Protein Composed of Truncated gpI of VZV (Kizuhara Strain) and IL-2

The plasmid pHDLneol which was constructed in Example 7 was partially digested with restriction enzyme NheI, and a DNA fragment of about 7.9 kb which was cleaved only at one site of two NheI sites was isolated. The terminus thereof was changed to a flush end with T4 DNA polymerase. Then, the resulting fragment was digested with NheI again, and a portion of the promoter and the gD region were removed to isolate a residual fragment (fragment (1)).

A fragment which was obtained by digesting the plasmid pUC18gpISma containing the VZVgpI gene (Reference Example 2-(3)-ii) with restriction enzyme XbaI was rendered flush with Klenow DNA polymerase, and then inserted into a vector which was obtained by digesting pTB701 (Reference Example 2-(3)-iii) with restriction enzyme EcoRI, followed by rendering it flush with Klenow DNA polymerase. Thus, gpI expression plasmid pTBgpiSma18 was constructed (FIG. 18). This plasmid was digested with restriction enzyme Eco52I to isolate a fragment coding for the amino acid sequence up to the 515th of gpI, and the termini thereof were changed to flush ends with T4 DNA polymerase. The resulting fragment was digested with restriction enzyme BglII to isolate a 1.04-kb fragment (fragment (2)).

Similarly, pTBgpISma18 was digested with NheI and BglII to isolate a fragment of about 2.1 kb containing a portion of the promoter and a portion of gpI (fragment (3)).

The above three fragments (1), (2) and (3) were ligated to one another with T4 DNA ligase to obtain gene expression plasmid pVGL4 for the fused protein composed of VZV truncated gpI and IL-2 (FIG. 18).

Further, a fragment (containing an ASVLTR promoter) which was obtained by digesting the truncated expression plasmid pTBE7dhfr4 having the hamster dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR) as a selected marker (Reference Example 2-(4)) with NheI and HindIII, a fragment (containing an hDHFR gene) which was obtained by digesting the plasmid pTBE7dhfr4 with HindIII and SalI, and a fragment which was obtained by digesting pVGL4 with NheI and SalI were ligated to one another with T4 DNA ligase to construct plasmid pVGLdhfrll (FIG. 19).

EXAMPLE 16 Gene Expression of Fused Protein Composed of VZV Truncated gpI and I1-2 in COS-7 Cell

The plasmids pVGL4 and pVGLdhfrll which were constructed in Example 15 were introduced into COS-7 cells to examine transient expression.

COS-7 cells (5×10⁵ cells/10 cm dish) were inoculated into 10 ml of Dulbecco's MEM medium (Gibco) containing 10% FCS, and after 18 hours, the cells were transfected with the above plasmids (20 μg/dish) in accordance with the method of Wigler et al. Cell 16, 777-785 (1979)!. After 24 hours, the resulting cells were incubated on Dulbecco's MEM medium (Gibco) containing 25 mM HEPES (Donin Chemical Laboratory for 2 days. Then, 5 ml of the culture supernatant was concentrated to about 200 μl by a Centricut (Centricut 20, Kurabo Industries). 10 μl of this supernatant was mixed with 5 μl of Laemmli buffer having a 3-fold concentration final concentrations: 62.5 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 2% SDS, 10% glycerol, 5% 2-ME, 0.001% BPB!, and the mixture was heated at 95° C. for 5 minutes. This sample was subjected to electrophoresis using 10%-20% SDS polyacrylamide gels (Daiichi Kagaku). After electrophoresis, the sample was assayed by the Western blotting method using a mouse anti-gpI monoclonal antibody (which was obtained from a hybridoma prepared by fusing a spleen cell of a BALB/c mouse immunized with a supernatant of VZV-infected cells disrupted by ultrasonication as an immunogen and mouse myeloma cell SP2 with polyethylene glycol) and a rabbit anti-IL-2 antibody (Genzyme). As a result, in the supernatants of the cells into which pVGL4 and pVGLdhfr11 were introduced, a band was detected for each of the ant-gpI antibody and the anti-IL-2 antibody (FIG. 20). On the contrary, in the supernatants of the cells as a control into which pTBE7dhfr4 and pTBgpIEcT (Reference Example 2-(3)-iii) were introduced, a band was only detected for the anti-gpI antibody.

Further, IL-2 biological activity in each supernatant was examined in accordance with the method of Tada et al. J. immunol. Methods 93, 157-165 (1986)!. As a consequence, only when pVGL4 and pVGLdhfrll were introduced, the IL-2 activity was observed in the supernatant. This revealed that IL-2 which was fused with gpI had the biological activity (Table 4).

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                                       IL-2 Activity                                                    Plasmid       (U/ml)                                                           ______________________________________                                         Control       Not detected                                                     pVGL4         0.27                                                             pTBE7dhfr4    Not detected                                                     pVGLdhfr11    0.14                                                             pTBgpIEcT     Not detected                                                     ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 17 Construction of Gene Expression Plasmid for Fused Protein Composed of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) gag Protein and IL-2

(1) An SalI linker is added to a 5.1-kb AccII-SalI fragment containing the gag-pol region of HIV recombinant proviral clone pNL4-3 Adachi et al., J. Virol. 59, 284-291 (1986); Gen'Bank R62.0 December 1989, locus HIVNL43!, and then the resulting fragment is inserted into the SalI site of pBR322 to prepare plasmid pTB770.

(2) The plasmid pTB770 is digested with restriction enzyme XmnI to isolate a 0.43-kb fragment. This fragment is cleaved with BamHI, and then the cleaved fragment is inserted into pUC8 whose termini are changed to flush ends with T4 DNA polymerase to obtain subclone pUCSXm3.

The subclone pUC8Xm3 is digested with EcoRI and EcoT22I to isolate a 0.42-kb fragment (fragment (1)).

The plasmid pTB770 is digested with BglII, and then the termini of the digested fragment is changed to flush ends with T4 DNA polymerase, followed by digestion with EcoT22I to isolate a 0.85-kb fragment (fragment (2)).

Plasmid pTB505 Sasada et al., Cell Structure and Function 13, 129-141 (1988)! for secretory expression of EGF with the signal sequence of IL-2 is digested with EcoRI and SalI to isolate a 1.9-kb fragment (fragment (3)).

The plasmid pHDLneol (refer to Example 5) is digested with NheI, and then the termini of the digested fragment is changed to flush ends with T4 DNA polymerase, followed by digestion with SalI to isolate a 3.0-kb fragment (fragment (4)).

The above four fragments (1), (2), (3) and (4) are ligated to one another with T4 DNA ligase to obtain expression plasmid pGAL2 to which genes each coding for the IL-2 signal sequence (containing the amino acid sequence up to Gln¹¹), Ile¹⁹ to Ile⁴³⁷ of the HIV gag protein and Ala¹ to Thr¹³³ of IL-2 are ligated downstream from an A-MuLV LTR-SV40 promoter (FIG. 21).

(3) Further, in order to modify the plasmid which is obtained in (2) to a stable expression plasmid, the neogene of the plasmid pHDLneol is inserted into pGAL2.

The plasmid pHDLneol is digested with ClaI and SalI to isolate a 2.8-kb fragment. This fragment, a 3.6-kb fragment which is obtained by digesting pGAL2 with ClaI and BglII, and a 2.5-kb fragment which is obtained by digesting pGAL2 with SalI and BelII are ligated to one another with T4 DNA ligase to obtain expression plasmid pGALneo (FIG. 22).

With respect to the plasmid obtained according to the above methods, the biological activity of the expressed product can be assayed in the same manner as Example 16. The antigenicity of the expressed product can be confirmed by Western blotting using an anti-gag antibody (Chemicon).

It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof that will be suggested to persons skilled in the art are to be included in the spirit and purview of this application and the scope of the approved claims.

The following references, which are referred to for their disclosure at various points in this application, are incorporated herein by reference.

Japanese Patent Application No. 63-180114/1988

Japanese Patent Application No. 1-158238/1989

Japanese Patent Application No. 1-308941/1989

Virol. 133, 301 (1984)

J. Virol. 53, 243 (1985)

Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-78799/1986

Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 59-93093/1984

Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-115528/1985

Mol. Cell. Biol. 4, 771 (1984)

European Patent Publication No. 0235430

Current Genetics, 10, 443C1986

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 75, 1929 (1978)

Virology, 52, 456 (1973)

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 77, 4505 (1980)

Science, 122, 501 (1952)

Virology, 8, 396 (1959)

Journal of the American Medical Association, 199, 519 (1967)

Proceeding of the Society for the Biological Medicine, 73, 1 (1950)

J. Gen. Virol. 67, 1759 (1986)

Science 236, 1116-1120 (1987)

Cell Structure and Function 12, 205 (1987)

Japanese Patent Application No. 63-317546/1988

Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-63282/1986

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 4216-4220 (1980)

Science 221, 551-553 (1983)

J. Immunol. Methods 93, 157 (1986)

Japanese Patent Application No. 1-233728/1989

Osaka University Medical Magazine 36 (No. 4), 69 (1987)

Immunology 159, 251 (1986)

J. Virol. 59, 284-291 (1986)

Cell Structure and Function 13, 129-141 (1988) 

What is claimed is:
 1. A recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for a fused protein comprising a viral antigen and interleukin-2.
 2. A recombinant DNA in accordance with claim 1, wherein the interleukin-2 is human interleukin-2.
 3. A recombinant DNA in accordance with claim 1, in which the antigen is a herpes simplex virus surface antigen.
 4. A recombinant DNA in accordance with claim 1, in which the antigen is a herpesvirus antigen or a human retrovirus antigen.
 5. A recombinant DNA in accordance with claim 4, in which the human retrovirus antigen is a human immunodeficiency virus antigen.
 6. A recombinant DNA in accordance with claim 5, in which the human immunodeficiency virus antigen is a human immunodeficiency virus gag protein.
 7. A transformant comprising a recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for a fused protein comprising a viral antigen and interleukin-2.
 8. A transformant in accordance with claim 7, wherein the interleukin-2 is human interleukin-2.
 9. A transformant in accordance with claim 7, in which the antigen is a herpes simplex virus surface antigen.
 10. A transformant in accordance with claim 7, in which the antigen is a herpesvirus antigen or a human retrovirus antigen.
 11. A transformant in accordance with claim 10, in which the human retrovirus antigen is a human immunodeficiency virus antigen.
 12. A transformant in accordance with claim 11, in which the human immunodeficiency virus antigen is a human immunodeficiency virus gag protein.
 13. A method for preparing a recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for a fused protein comprising a viral antigen and interleukin-2, the method comprising inserting the nucleotide sequence into a vector.
 14. A method of preparing a recombinant DNA in accordance with claim 13, wherein the interleukin-2 is human interleukin-2.
 15. A method for preparing a transformant comprising a recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for a fused protein comprising a viral antigen and interleukin-2, the method comprising transforming a microorganism with the recombinant DNA.
 16. A method for preparing a transformant in accordance with claim 15, wherein the interleukin-2 is human interleukin-2.
 17. A method for producing a fused protein comprising a viral antigen and interleukin-2, the method comprising cultivating a transformant comprising a recombinant DNA containing a nucleotide sequence coding for the fused protein, producing and accumulating the fused protein in a culture, and collecting the fused protein.
 18. A method for producing a fused protein in accordance with claim 17, wherein the interleukin-2 is human interleukin-2.
 19. A method in accordance with claim 17, in which the antigen is a herpes simplex virus surface antigen.
 20. A method in accordance with claim 17, in which the antigen is a herpesvirus antigen or a human retrovirus antigen.
 21. A method in accordance with claim 20, in which the human retrovirus antigen is a human immunodeficiency virus antigen.
 22. A method in accordance with claim 21, in which the human immunodeficiency virus antigen is a human immunodeficiency virus gag protein. 